Security Intermediate

What is Rate Limiting?

A technique that controls the number of requests a client can make to a server within a specified time period.

Rate limiting protects APIs and services from abuse, DDoS attacks, and excessive usage. Common approaches include fixed window (X requests per minute), sliding window (smoother distribution), and token bucket (burst-friendly) algorithms.

Implementation can be per-user, per-IP, or per-API-key. HTTP response headers (X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, Retry-After) communicate limits to clients. Redis is commonly used to track request counts.

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Related Terms

JWT (JSON Web Token)

A compact, self-contained token format used for securely transmitting information between parties as a JSON object.

Brute Force Attack

An attack method that systematically tries all possible combinations of passwords or keys until the correct one is found.

Session Hijacking

An attack where an adversary takes over a legitimate user session by stealing or predicting the session identifier.

SAST (Static Application Security Testing)

Automated analysis of source code to find security vulnerabilities without executing the application.

An attack where malicious SQL code is inserted into application queries through user input to access or manipulate the database.

A security model that requires strict identity verification for every user and device, regardless of their network location.

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